Xander's mind regained the working of the living people, but he didn't open his eyes. He listened to the sounds of Mideval morning. They appealed to his ears and made him once again swelling with happiness to be in the Middle Ages. He thought, rather distantly, I bet Buffy and Spike and Willow are happy to be here, too. He didn't think there could be a way for them not to...
Xander finally opened his eyes and forced them into focus. He looked about the large room that appeared to be his own. There was a large stone fireplace with a large, orange fire crackling through it all the time, giving the light in the room a strange, misshapen glow. There were a small amount of tunics and breeches hanging from hooks in the wall. His bed was fluffed with leaves and cotton and sweet smelling incense. He loved the cinnamony scent it gave off. He had a rack full of weopans and armor. That was pretty much all he had. It was very bare, there was no decoration or festive things hanging on the walls, no place for guests to sit. Xander figured Sir Alexander was not a very social guy. Xander decided he was the one with the full body aches, he could go back to sleep.
He closed his eyelids over his dark brown eyes and drifted into an easy, middle-of-morning sleep.
****
Buffy awoke with a start, but suddenly smiled, reminding herself for once in her life, the weight of the world did not rest upon her bony shoulders. She drew the covers up to her chest to cover her bare body, but smiled again. In this reality, Buffy was not the Vampire Slayer, she had nothing to worry about, but to be beautiful and that was something she was more than willing to do.
Buffy relaxed and looked around her strange new room. There were pillows thrown all about the floor as if for people to sit on. She wasn't exactly sure what they were for. She had a high-up, curtained bed she supposed was to hide people from looking at her and Xander doing the married thing... She shook her head, clearing all thoughts of what she and Xander must do in this reality. She had a closet, the only room in the four bedroom house that a closet, and it was stocked full of large, bell shaped gowns, shawls, covering, slips, and shoes. It was wonerful. Her room sparlked with light and color, she had beautifully woven tapestries on the wall and lamps, the only room in the house that had lamps. She was very pleased. She decided that since she didn't have to save the world anymore, she might sleep in today. Buffy layed back down, let go of the covers so they could settle and drifted back into a easy, middle-of-the-morning rest.
****
Spike turned around in his sleep, hitting his head hard against the floor. He had rolled off the bed in his drunken sleep. He sat up, the covers tightly wrapped around his naked body. He placed a hand to his head, it ached horribly. He tried to stand, but only managed to trip and fall, making his head feel like someone was driving a chisel through it and tearing it apart with their bare hands. He felt exhausted, but he knew he would get no good rest on the floor. He crawled uo into bed and layed down, sighing from the effort. He closed his eyes, his head throbbing like a drum. He remembered where he was now, in the smallest room in the house, with only a bed. He, as always, got the short end of the stick in the Scoobies. But right now, that didn't matter, what mattered was that he got the rest he needed to be sober and migrane free. He drifted into a heavy mid-morning sleep.
****
Willow stirred as the sunlight shone through her eyelids. She hated it when the light shone like that. She opened her eyes, but didn't move. She just lay, staring at the stone ceiling of her bedroom, thinking about what was happening to her and her friends. It was strange, but there appeared to be a place for them in this reality, even if they weren't quite fitting into it. And everyone seemed to be happy except Willow and Spike. Willow and Spike were *still* the exact same Willow and Spike, just in a different reality. Willow was still nothing special and a powerful Wicca. Spike was still just a guy that hung around because he had nothing better to do with his life, looking for money.
Willow sat up and looked around. She had been so tired she had forgotten to take off her dress, but she didn't mind. She had plenty of them hanging from nails in teh wall. She had a cauldron and magical herbs and potions and books on numerous shelfs in her room. She also had a huge bed, with the smells that surrounded her at home, strawberries and lavender. Her favorite. Not much had changed since 1998 at all and she wished it would have. She wanted to be someone new, too. She wanted a whole new exiting adventure in the Willow Rosenberg Cronicles, but it appeared she was jsut Willow, still. She decided that she had better sleep on it. Maybe when she was less tired, she would ask Spike how he felt about the whole ordeal, but right now a long rest sounded pretty good to Willow.
*****
Willow was the first awake. She had thought about and decided, if anyone should know how she was feeling right now, it had to be Spike, no one else could possibly understand what she was saying. Spike was good at that sort of thing, understanding a person from the core rather than the vertex. Also, if she were to have to change her mind, see the good, she didn't want Buffy or Xander to know she was feeling neglected. She knew Spike was good at keeping secrets and he was also brutally honest, so she knew it wasn't unwise to go to Spike for emotional aid. Also, there were the many times she had emotionally aided him. Last year, when he came back to Sunnydale, drunk and alone. And just last week, with his discovery of the goverment chip. She had been there, even though he would have killed her without it's placement there.
She got up and took of her old dress. She threw it on the floor, thinking there must be servants. She then threw on a new corset and dress, smiling to herself. She threw some lavender aroma on herself and skipped out into the hall, hoping to find her friends, but it appeared none were awake. She sighed. But then she relized there was no better time to approach Spike then when no one else was awake. She hoped he didn't mind be woken up...
Willow knocked on his door and there was no answer. *He's still asleep, hung over,* Willow thought. She let herself in and smiled to herself. The ex-vampire was sleeping on his stomach, his normally very tidy slicked back hair askew, and his mouth open, drool escaping from the corners. She wasn't so sure he would be happy seeing her so early, well, late in the morning, but early in his morning. She could tell he wasn't wearing any clothes, not that she exactly expected him to be wearing any. She saw his bare back and some of his leg stuck out.
Willow cautiously approached his bed, taking a seat at the end, by his foot. She tried not to alert him, it was obvious he didn't want to be disturbed. She lightly touched the small of his back with one long slender finger. He started and covered himself, nervously, not that Willow had been fast enough to catch a glimpse of anything.
"Oh, Red, it's you. What are you doing? I was sleeping and I'm not exactly dressed yet..." he greeted her nervously.
"I wanted to talk to you, about me... If you want me to wait until you're ready..."Willow looked at the floor in her own discomfort.
"No, no. It's alright, Red. What do want to say?" He just adjusted for hte long talk, making sure none of his parts were exposed.
"Well, did you happen to notice that we are the same people? The same people that we were back home?"
"Yeah, I did. We are and Buffy and Xander are." Spike didn't exactly mean to put it in couple's it just turned out that way when he said it.
"No, that's not what I mean. Wait, what did you mean 'we'?"
"I just meant... Hey, you were the one that said we first, Red!"
"It dosen't matter who said it first, what did you mean?"
Spike put his finger on her lips and Willow looked down at it, confused. She crossed her eyes in the process and Spike laughed his full, rich laugh. He brought his face closer to Willow's and touched her small, button nose with his own larger, more hawlike one. He grased her lips with his own and saw that she wasn't shrinking away. He planted his lips firmly on her own and felt her tongue searching for his own. He was surprised and drew away a little. Willow stopped a looked away, embarrased.
Spike grabbed her hand. "It's alright, Red."
"No, it isn't! What about home? What about Tara? What about Buffy and Xander?"
"It was a kiss, Red, a kiss. I seem to remember you have bad luck with these sorts of things..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"With you and Xander..."
"Oh, that. Well, that was a long time ago and I had raging horomones then. But now, I have Tara and their prespectives to consider...."
"Don't your friends stand by you no matter what you do, Red?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"And can't Tara still be your friend?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"And when I kiss you, the whole world fades away..." Spike locked Willow's brown eyes with his own sky blue ones and she threw her arms around him, touching only his skin. She liked the way it felt. She had hugged Spike a few times before, but usually he was pretty well covered, a duster and everything. Now, he was open. She felt something new, too. His heart. It was beating against her own. She let go of him and put her hand on his heart.
"I love you," she whispered, just loud enough for the blond *man* to hear...
****
Willow exited Spike's room, making hi, promise their little romance would never get out of hand and Buffy and Xander weren't gonna know about it. Spike promised and told her he wasn't even sure they really had anything, but it would be nice... If no one knew.
"I don't think I could take a beating from the Slayer for getting up your skirt," Spike informed her. Willow had laughed knowingly. Buffy was, after all, impulse-o-girl.
Willow's stomach gave a loud, huingry growl. "Right," Willow said. "I'm hungry. Hey, Spike," she called, walking back to his room next to her own. "You wanna come with me to get some food?"
"Uhh... sure, luv. Lemme just..." Willow heard sounds of Spike putting clothes on. He came out, fully dressed, giving her a loving smile. It was a change, to see him with a good expression. Willow liked it.
Willow extended her hand and he took it. He smiled at her and the pair walked out of the large house the foursome lived in.
"Now, hmm..." Willow thought aloud. "Where are we gonna get food? Do we have any money?"
"No. I looked," Spike said. When he noticed her glare, he shrugged. "What? The puffter at the bar wouldn't let me get a drink without paying for it." Willow rolled her eyes, but gave him an amused smile.
"Well, we're just gonna have to steal something, then, aren't we?" She smiled at Spike and tunred him around to look at her. He got real close to her face, but turned out and put his lips on her ear.
"I thought you'd never ask."
****
Spike crept up behind the butchery, giving an encouraging thumbs-up to Willow, who gave him a nervous, apprenhesive smile. Spike put his fist through the paneless window and unlocked the door. He crawled in and sniffed, laughing as his stomach rumbled and churned. He grabbed a butcher's sack and threw in all the beaf, pork, and chicken he could carry. He then ran out, only slightly weighted down by the meat.
"Got it," he told Willow breathlessly.
"Good job. But about the cooking... I don't know how to prepare meat without a grill or an oven and in the Middle Ages..."
"Don't worry, I do."
"You eat out a lot? I thought vampires in gangs only like blood..."
"No, when I was human. Mum wasn't rich and I was a puffter, we never had much money. I had to learn how to survive, didn't I?"
"I guess. You know, you are human now."
"You know, when we get back, I won't be. So I'm not gonna go getting used to."
"But why not?"
"Because I won't have it anymore and I can't kid myself like that. This isn't real, as soon as we get back, I'm me."
"You're you now, Spike." Willow grabbed him and kissed him.
"Red..."
"Shh..." She put her finger on his lips. "Be human. Be human for me, because when we get back, there will be no us."
Spike dropped the meat and threw his arms around Willow, bringing her to the ground in frenzied passion.
****
Xander woke up and found Buffy waiting out in the hall for someone to notice her. "Xander!" she called, jumping up and giving him a big hug,"I was so worried that you would never wake up!" Xander pulled her off him, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"You could have woken me up, Buff," he encouraged.
"I know, but, well, you seemed like you needed some sleep," Buffy replied, not looking up into Xander's gaze.
"I did. But that should never stop you, Buffy. You and Willow, and damn, even Spike, are more important then if I get enough sleep. Remember that, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, thanks. But Xander, Willow and Spike are gone." Buffy sounded very worried and she looked like she was about to cry.
"They're fine, Buffy, I'm sure. They must of gone to get food. Which wasn't a bad idea, because I am so majorly hungry."
"But Xander, we don't know that."
"We don't know anything, Buff, but everything worked out fine and this will to, okay?"
"You can't be so sure."
"I don't have to be."
"Fine, I'm not gonna argue. I'm gonna go find 'em."
"Find who?" Willow walked in, her hair a little bit of a mess and her dress a little muddy, but she was positively beaming at her friends. Spike walked in behind her, his hair spiked short of, as if someone had run their fingers through his hair. His clothes were actully torn.
"You, actully," Buffy replied, confused. "Where were you guys?"
"Getting food, Slayer, what else?" Spike gruffed, unpacking pounds and pounds of meat.
"And no bread? No milk? No nothing except meat? I don't live off meat..." Buffy started complaining.
"Well, now you're gonna have to. Anyone got a fireplace?" Spike asked.
"I do," Xander volunteered. "Go 'head."
Spike nodded in a sort of thanks and went into Xander's room, preparing the meat. Willow started to go to follow him, her eyes practilly glowing with admiration.
"Where you going?" Buffy asked, stopping her.
"To help Spike," Willow said, as if Buffy was confusing her.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Xander imputed.
"So? I just want to help. I'm hungry and two people can cook faster than one," Willow explained.
"No, come on. Since when is Spike your priotory? We have to hang, Will. You're the only one that can get us out of this mess," Xander teased.
"What if I don't want to? Ever think about that Xander? Maybe, just maybe, think about what I want for once! It's always Buffy and Xander this, Giles and his books this! Maybe for once I want to have a life! Without you!" Willow stormed off after Spike closing Xander's door.
****
Xander stared after Willow, really hurt. She was, after all, his best friend. She had been there when he needed someone and now, he knew she needed someone, and it wasn't him she needed. It was Spike. And what was it that he could give her? He was evil. He was gross. He was mean. He was worthless. And he was Willow's number one thing now. Not Xander. He knew it was selfish, he knew it was wrong, but that was the sting. Not Xander.
Buffy put her chin on his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up, Xand."
"Why not? It's my fault, isn't it? I made her mad, I made her want to have her own life and she chooses the one thing I wish she would never had chosen. A life with Spike, of all people."
"You can't change the way she feels, Xander. Or the way she handles the way she feels. Willow knows we love her and Willow will always know we love her. Even if we don't agree with her chocies. Even if we wish we knew what was going on in her poor, pained head. Even if she is doing stuff with Spike I'd rather not think of anyone doing wiht Spike."
Xander turned around and looked at Buffy. He gazed into her emerald eyes and felt all the pain, all the confusion, fade away. He found answers in Buffy's eyes, answers to questions he could never ask. He leaned forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. He touched her smooth, rounded, small cheek with his own and tocuhed her lips with his own. Buffy didn't flinch, didn't move, she didn'd do anything. Xander stayed until he could no longer bare it. And as soon as their lips parted, reality came flooding back. What had he just done?
****
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